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Background: Care experienced young people (CEYP) are thought to be at increased risk of experiencing teenage pregnancy but little is known about teenage pregnancy rates among CEYP in Scotland. Objectives: The study used data linkage techniques to compare teenage pregnancy outcomes for CEYP in Fife with those of their non-care experienced but similarly deprived peers. Methods: Social care administrative data for 1119 females looked after by Fife Council between October 1991 and March 2015 were linked to NHS teenage pregnancy data. Probabilistic linkage was used to match CEYP demographic data (names, sex, date of birth and postcodes) to the Community Health Index (CHI) number. The CHI number was used to identify teenage pregnancy outcomes from national Scottish Morbidity Record (SMR) datasets, SMR01 and SMR02. Outcomes for CEYP were compared with a group of non-care experienced peers from a similar socioeconomic background. Three non-care experienced young people (non-CEYP) were selected for every CEYP, matched by year of birth, sex and socioeconomic status at birth. Results: An acceptable match to a CHI number was achieved for 90.5% (1013/1119) of CEYP. 889 CEYP were fully matched to 2664 non-CEYP. CEYP were more than twice as likely as non-CEYP to experience a live birth before age 20 (RR 2.32, 95% CI 2.06 to 2.62). 38.4% (341/889) of CEYP had a live birth before age 20, compared with 16.5% (440/2664) of non-CEYP (p < 0.001). CEYP were 33% more likely than non-CEYP to experience a termination of pregnancy before age 20 (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.66). 11.2% (100/889) of CEYP experienced a termination of pregnancy before age 20, compared with 8.5% (226/2664) of non-CEYP (p < 0.05). Conclusions: CEYP were significantly more likely to experience teenage abortion and teenage childbirth than their non-care experienced but similarly deprived peers. High levels of teenage childbirth were observed among CEYP.

Adolescence is a formative period of identity development. From the start of high school young people begin to direct their own development through peer selection and behavioural choices. During this time young people have the opportunity to engage in risky behaviours such as drinking alcohol, smoking, having unprotected sex and taking illegal drugs, for the first time. These behaviours amongst young people have been linked to a range of adverse health and wellbeing outcomes, both short and long term. This study seeks to improve understanding of eleven to fifteen year olds' behavioural choices through investigation of potential links to perceptions of adulthood and gender. In order to capture this more fully a mixed methods approach is used with a quantitative cross-sectional pupil survey and in-depth intergenerational family qualitative interviews. By exploring a broad range of age and gender stereotyped, and risky behaviours, this study seeks to provide better understanding of participants' perceptions, motivations and involvement in these behaviours. Results of the study demonstrate both gendered and age differentiated patterns of perceptions. Between eleven and fifteen years old, boys demonstrate more pronounced values attributed to masculine roles. Conversely, stereotyped feminine roles appear to decrease in appeal to girls. Fourth year girls perceive risky behaviours as considerably more relevant to them, than their male peers. Interviewed mothers were unsure of how best to manage their daughter's behaviours considering their own lack of experience and the apparently high value attributed to non-confrontational, friendship based, mothering. Current methods of teaching and intervening generally address mixed gender age-group classes. This research suggests in order to modify risk-taking behaviours a gender specific approach may be more effective.

Violence is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Drawing on the disciplines of Political Science and Public Health the purpose of this study is to understand the conditions that determine political traction for the issue of violence and facilitate the adoption of a strategy of prevention. Using multiple-case study methodology, it draws on data collected from 42 in-depth semi-structured interviews, eight weeks of direct observations and more than 200 pieces of documentary evidence to examine violence prevention policy development in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, Jamaica and the Republic of Lithuania. The Shiffman Public Health Policy Priority Framework is applied to identify the factors that influenced the advancement of violence prevention policy in each case and to draw cross-case comparisons. The employment of this public health specific framework in the field of violence prevention allows the study to reach conclusions as to the utility of this framework for broader public health policy analysis and to proffer some refinements. Further findings suggest that bringing together academics, advocates and policy- makers into networks, focused on a shared concept of violence, gains political traction for the issue of violence and a strategy of prevention. It is found that the conceptualisation of violence and perception of prevention are framed in a case specific historical context and that an examination of this context is necessary to understand the conditions that shape the status of violence prevention policy. The results suggest that the development of violence prevention policy in other countries would be expedited by the coalescing and informed engagement of the violence prevention policy community in the web of institutions, interests and ideas that underpin the public health policy process.